Cabinet Office

Northern Ireland

Mr David Lidington: Today we are publishing a document produced by the UK negotiating team for discussion with the EU.This covers:Temporary customs arrangement between the UK and the EUThese will be available on GOV.UK today and copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Department for International Trade

EU Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) 22 May 2018

Greg Hands: The EU Foreign Affairs Informal Council (Trade) took place in Brussels on 22nd May 2018. I represented the UK at the meeting. A summary of the discussions follows:Commissioner Malmström provided an update on her latest contact with Wilbur Ross on US tariffs on steel imports. A further temporary exemption was not expected. I supported the outcome of the Leaders’ discussion the previous week and emphasised active UK engagement with the US in support of the EU position.Ministers adopted the conclusions on the negotiation and conclusion of EU trade agreements. These follow the CJEU decision on competence boundaries in May 2017. They note the Commission’s proposal to pursue EU-only trade agreements, with the option of separate mixed investment protection agreements, and assert the role of the Council in deciding on a case by case basis whether to open negotiations in this manner (or to split existing agreements which are yet to be signed). The Conclusions make clear that investment protection agreements and Association Agreements containing provisions of shared competence will remain mixed agreements and will continue to require ratification at the national level. Amongst other things, the Council Conclusions also state that Member State parliaments, civil society and other interested stakeholders should be kept duly informed from the beginning of the trade agreement negotiation process, and that Member States should continue to involve their parliaments in-line with their respective national procedures.Ministers thanked the Commission for its work on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement along with the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement (IPA). Commissioner Malmström confirmed the IPA would not be provisionally applied, coming into force only when all Member States had ratified.Ministers adopted mandates for negotiations with Australia and New Zealand, which would be launched during Commissioner Malmström’s visit to the region in June.Commissioner Malmström debriefed Ministers on her recent engagement in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Ministers agreed that the EU should continue engaging with the US and discussed the extent to which significant WTO reforms should be considered. I cautioned against portraying the WTO as being in “crisis” and urged maximising the opportunities including the “Joint Statement Initiative” on e-commerce and encouraged further consideration of WTO reform.


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Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Esther McVey: Today we publish a summary of the Universal Credit Full Business Case, signed off by HM Treasury, which shows that when fully rolled out, Universal Credit is forecast to incentivise 200,000 more people to take employment than would have under the previous system and deliver £8bn of benefits to the UK economy per year.Universal Credit is the biggest change of the welfare system since it was created. It is a modern, flexible, personalised benefit reflecting the rapidly changing world of work.It has brought together the six main benefits, including tax credits, providing support in and out of work and assisting career progression. The Government has used a ‘test and learn’ approach as it rolls out across the country.The Government has already made a commitment that anyone who is moved to Universal Credit without a change of circumstance will not lose out in cash terms. Transitional protection will be provided to eligible claimants to safeguard their existing benefit entitlement until their circumstances change.Today I am announcing four additions to these rules to ensure that Universal Credit supports people into work, protects vulnerable claimants and is targeted at those who need it.In order to support the transition for those individuals who live alone with substantial care needs and receive the Severe Disability Premium, we are changing the system so that these claimants will not be moved to Universal Credit until they qualify for transitional protection. In addition, we will provide both an on-going payment to claimants who have already lost this Premium as a consequence of moving to Universal Credit and an additional payment to cover the period since they moved.Second, we will increase the incentives for parents to take short-term or temporary work and increase their earnings by ensuring that the award of, or increase in, support for childcare costs will not erode transitional protection.Third, we propose to re-award claimants’ transitional protection that has ceased owing to short-term increases in earnings within an assessment period, if they make a new claim to UC within three months of when they received the additional payment.Finally, individuals with capital in excess of £16,000 are not eligible for Universal Credit. However, for Tax Credit claimants in this situation, we will now disregard any capital in excess of £16,000 for 12 months from the point at which they are moved to Universal Credit. Normal benefit rules apply after this time in order to strike the right balance between keeping incentives for saving and asking people to support themselves.The process of migrating claimants on legacy benefits will begin in July 2019 as previously announced. In order to make the changes to the system it will be necessary to extend the completion of UC to March 2023. As throughout UC roll out, we will keep the exact timetable under review to do what is sensible from a delivery and fiscal perspective.These changes will form part of the Universal Credit Managed Migration and Transitional Protection Regulations which we intend to bring forward in the Autumn.This Government is committed to delivering a welfare system that supports claimants and is fair to taxpayers.


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Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Transport, Telecoms and Energy Council

Margot James: The Transport, Telecoms and Energy Council (TTE) will take place in Luxembourg. Lord Ashton of Hyde will represent the UK at the Telecoms session of the Council on 8 June.This Council will begin with a progress report/policy debate on the proposed regulation concerning ePrivacy.This meeting of the Council will then ask Member States to vote on a General Approach (GA) on the Cybersecurity Act Regulation. DCMS has deposited clearance/waiver requests with the European Scrutiny Committee (ESC) & European Union Committee (EUC) and will hope to support this GA at Council.This session of the Council will also hold a policy debate on the directive on the re-use of Public Sector Information (PSI).Also tabled for this session is information from the Presidency on the directive on the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) [Recast], and the regulation on the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).In addition, information will be provided from the Commission on the state of play of the Digital Single Market (DSM).To conclude this session of the Council, there will be information from the Austrian delegation, setting out their work programme as the incoming Presidency for the second half of 2018.

Department for Transport

East Midlands Invitation to Tender

Joseph Johnson: I am pleased to inform the House that this morning the Department for Transport published the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the East Midlands rail franchise and the consultation document for the Cross Country franchise signalling the start of a 12 week public consultation. East Midlands Rail Franchise The ITT for the East Midlands franchise sets out an exciting future that will deliver a brand-new fleet of trains, more seats for passengers, reduced peak journey times between Nottingham, Sheffield and London and a dedicated, high quality, express service between Corby and London. These improvements will mean more comfortable journeys for both long distance and commuting passengers at the busiest times of the day. We have listened to what improvements passengers want to see and will be requiring the next operator to deliver a wide range of improvements across the network including improved compensation for delays, smart ticketing, high quality Wi-Fi connection, more frequent and increased capacity on local services and services that start earlier and finish later. As the Secretary of State set out in the Government’s Strategic Vision for Rail in November 2017, we are now fixing the operational divide between track and train so that both Network Rail and train companies share one imperative: putting the passenger first. Better performance and reliability on the East Midlands franchise will be delivered through a new collaborative partnership between the next operator and Network Rail. Cross Country Rail Franchise The current Cross Country franchise, operated by Arriva Cross Country is due to end late 2019 (though it can be extended by up to a year). I am therefore pleased to launch today a public consultation which will run for 12 weeks and will help to inform and develop the franchise specification for inclusion in the ITT. We will encourage responses to the consultation through: meetings around the network with formal stakeholders; promoting it directly to passengers on Cross Country trains; and one or more webinars to reach out to people across this extensive franchise.


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Department for Exiting the European Union

EU Exit

Mr David Davis: Today we are publishing two documents produced by the UK negotiating team for discussion with the EU.These cover:DataTransportThese will be available on GOV.UK today and copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Home Office

Security Industry Authority Review

Mr Nick Hurd: I am pleased to announce that the Review of the Security Industry Authority is today being published on www.gov.uk. This is part of a programme of regular reviews of public bodies to provide assurance and challenge for good governance and efficiency. A copy of the Review will also be placed in the House Library.I welcome publication of the Review of the Security Industry Authority. The Government is committed to ensuring the integrity of the private security industry. I am pleased the Review concludes that regulation of the industry remains relevant and that the Security Industry Authority has performed its role to a satisfactory standard.The Review makes a number of recommendations about the future of the regulatory regime. These require further consideration and analysis, in particular of the balance between improving public protection and the need to support and not overburden the private security industry, including the smaller organisations.The Home Office will support the Security Industry Authority as it works to continue to improve its performance and risk based approach and to realise efficiencies, with the aim of achieving regulatory best practice and showing leadership in taking the industry forward.


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